


At Last I see (your) Light

by bokayjunkie



Series: we belong to you and me [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, best friend turned lovers theme, but focused from a third person pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-24 01:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6136831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokayjunkie/pseuds/bokayjunkie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thea Queen meets the reason for her brother's change of behavior in the past month. It wasn't exactly what she expected, but she basks in the sight before her either way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At Last I see (your) Light

**Author's Note:**

> So in an attempt to get my creativity back, and getting out of my comfort zone, I'm writing fanfics again!
> 
> I actually write a lot of fics for my own amusement, but I've never posted them. (it's this self-conscious thing I have, I'm working on it) Also, all of what I write isn't for the intention of posting to the public, so it's a lot of nonsense and A LOT of errors. But now I feel motivated to get back into writing with the intention of posting cause I feel that it will help with actually writing well by using proper punctuation and grammar. 
> 
> So this story I wrote sometime last year with no intention of finishing, but after reading it again recently I felt like I wanted to finish it and I thought it would be a good one to post. This is posted without a beta so any and all errors are mine. I'm still learning, or trying to remember the things I have learned. So please bear with me.

“Ollie, where are we?”

Thea looked around the unfamiliar neighborhood her brother was driving them into. Oliver had just driven them on the border of downtown Starling, where the buildings were getting shorter and shorter. It wasn’t the Glades; it looked a touch more middle class than the poor part of town. But it wasn’t anywhere near the Highlands either, the higher class division of town where the wealthier people lived, her family included.

“You said you didn’t want to go back to the mansion.” came Oliver’s reply as he drove down the street lined with brownstone buildings.

“I did…” her voice trailed off as Oliver slowed down the car.

It's been an hour since Oliver had caught her from her escape from the world's most boring date ever. She knew the ‘dinner party' her mother had coerced her into going was merely a ploy to set Thea up with the Charleston's son who was just a year older than her. Moira has been on a mission of sorts. Now that Thea was graduating high school with no ambition in her she wanted to, at least, find her daughter a suitable man.

Her mother had not been subtle in this pursuit and the moment Moira had left her to ‘get to know the nice, young man' she formed her escape. Thea fled the first opportunity she got from that dinner and somehow her brother had found her. Instead of taking her back inside the mansion, she had pleaded with him to take her somewhere else.

"So where are we?" She asked again.

Oliver parked the car in front of a two-story brownstone building. It didn't look significant from the others; it blended in with the neighborhood.

"Come on, my friend lives here," he said. Before she could say anything else, he got out of the car leaving her in confusion.

"We can stay here for a while if you want," he said to her when she got out. He took her hand and he locked the door before leading her into the building.

Thea noted that Oliver looked like he knew exactly what he was doing. She raised a brow when he pulled out a key to enter the building, letting her know exactly just how familiar he is with this place. Entering, they were taken into the main floor hallway where she was surprised to see Mr. Diggle who was wearing a shirt and pajama bottoms with his robe over it.

“Mr. Diggle?” she said in surprise. “That’s who we’re staying with?” she looked to her brother again.

"No," Oliver said. "But he does live her. Hey, Dig." He gave a nod to the man.

“Oliver.” He greeted back. His eyes then narrowed at him, shifting his glance between the siblings. “What are you doing here so late at night?”

"Thea needed to get away from my mom for the evening so I thought I'd take her here." The crafted, innocent way he had said this had put both Dig and Thea on suspicion.

“Mh-hm.” Diggle continued to look at him through narrowed eyes.

“What? It’s true!” he played the innocent act. “Ask Thea!”

Thea wasn’t sure herself what was going on anymore. Being here was strange enough, but now to see the casual way in which her brother is acting towards Mr. Diggle was adding more to the confusion.

Mr. Diggle had been working for them for the past six months now. She knew he worked closely with Oliver as he was hired to be his bodyguard. He was always kind and did a good job to protect them. She wasn't aware, however, that he and Oliver had such a close relationship outside of their professional one.

Diggle did look at Thea though, his eyes softening. “Everything alright, Miss Queen?”

"Um…yeah," Thea said, snapping out of her confused daze. "I'm fine, Mr. Diggle, thanks."

Diggle nodded and then his gaze went back to Oliver, shaking his head.

“What?” Oliver himself looked smug and definitely unapologetic.

“You’re funeral, man.” He muttered before entering into a door, which Thea assumes is into his apartment.

“Ollie, what’s going on?” Thea turned to her brother after Diggle was gone.

"Come on, I'll tell you when we get upstairs." Oliver led her once again, up the stairs this time, to the apartment on the second floor.

It didn't go unnoticed by Thea, once again, that Oliver had keys to this particular place as well. Her confusion only grew when they entered the apartment. It was not what Thea expected at all. She thought maybe her brother had acquired a humble apartment above where Mr. Diggle had lived to get away from the nonsense that is their life. She had thought this is probably another bachelor pad with barely any furniture or food.

What she didn't expect was a cozy and homey interior. The place had color; a whole ton of color. Whether it was the decorations or even the furniture themselves, there was color everywhere. It was an eclectic look; the furniture's didn't match, they didn't even look like they came from high-end furniture stores that adorned their mansion. Nothing about this place looked like the person had designed it for show.

No, this place looked like a home.

What was even more surprising was this didn’t look like some bachelor pad either. This looked like a place with the touch of a woman. Thea looked at her brother once more, the surprise wearing off and now suspicion showed.

Oliver hadn't paid her any attention, though, as he made his way into the open kitchen area. He made his way around, putting water on the kettle then putting it on the stove. Thea walked over and sat on the stool, leaning over the counter and watched her brother make his way around the place as though he lived there.

“So are you gonna tell me what’s going on here?” Thea asked, filling in their silence. “Who exactly lives here?”

“How do you know this place isn’t mine?” he asked with a smirk.

"Unless you've grown obsessed with Errol Flynn," she said, quirking her head to the Robin Hood poster hanging above the TV in the living room. "And have acquired for colors such as pink and teal; I doubt this is your place, Ollie."

Oliver chuckled. "Okay, I admit, this is not my place," he said, putting down a cup of tea for her. "This is actually my friends place."

“You mean your girlfriend?” she smirked.

“No, Thea, I already told you I don’t have a girlfriend.”

"Okay, but if my very accurate suspicion is correct, this would be where you've been staying at for the past four months, right?" she asked. "Or more like living I should say."

“What does that mean?”

“Come on Ollie, you’ve barely been home at all! The only time we do see you are for dinner, and most times that’s like once a week! Your room is so unlived in, it’s actually clean. Your bed is always made.”

“Raisa always makes it, that’s her job Speedy.”

“Yeah but she’s only ever made it like three times recently because you’re barely sleeping at the mansion at all!”

“That’s not true, I stayed there last night!”

"Yeah, like once every other week," she argued. "Admit it, Ollie, you have a girlfriend. Why are you still denying this?"

"Because I don't have a girlfriend, Speedy," he says as a matter of factly. "No matter what you think."

“Oh really?” she raised a brow at him. “So you just happened to have keys to your friend’s place?”

“We’re close.” He shrugged.

"Uh-huh," she says in a tone that clearly doesn't believe him.

“Look, she’s my friend, okay? My really good friend, and yes, I sometimes stay here. That’s because we like to hang out here and sometimes it’s exhausting to drive all the way back across town in the middle of the night.”

Thea pursed her lips, as though trying to figure out if she should believe him or not. “Okay, so who is this friend of yours then, that you’re practically living with her but not your girlfriend?” then her eyes widen. “It’s not Laurel is it? Oh, Ollie, you two aren’t doing this dance again are you? I mean I like the girl, but the two of you keep doing this over and over again and –"

"Speedy stop!" even Oliver's eyes widen at the implication. "No, it's not Laurel. I haven't even seen her since last year."

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Then who is it? You’re not exactly the kind of guy to have girls that are friends.”

"No…," he said, his tone going somber. "But I haven't exactly been that kind of guy for some time now."

Thea immediately looked at her brother with empathy. The reminder of exactly what changed Oliver flashed over her.

It's been almost three years since their father had passed on the yacht that sank in the Pacific. His passing was the eye opener for the party boy Ollie Queen to change. At first, it was a downward spiral of drinking until he forgot; but one bad night at the ER of Starling Memorial, his stomach getting pumped from alcohol poisoning and seeing the blurry sight of his mother and sister crying in hysterics at his condition has what really turned him. He stopped drinking for a while and took a few months of getting sober in his family's own version of rehab. Once he started to take his responsibilities as the eldest Queen heir, that's when Ollie really had left.

Oliver Queen was quieter, reserved, and didn't take idle chit chat. He cut off ties with practically everyone, even his long-term girlfriend Laurel Lance and best friend since childhood Tommy Merlyn. Not that it was his choice, it just happened gradually and Oliver didn't do anything to stop it.

He and Laurel had already been broken up when his father died, and when she tried to put herself back in his life during his recovery, Oliver had said no. They all thought it was only a temporary separation, much like their previous ‘break ups’, but this time, Oliver was insistent on not pursuing her again. Maybe he was just tired of trying to be better, or maybe he was growing up, but he knew he didn’t deserve to be with Laurel.

With Tommy, he had been shipped off by his father after seeing Oliver's downward spiral. Malcolm didn't want his son to be influenced by it so he sent Tommy off to the other coast, citing he would cut him off if he disobeyed. As painful and lonely as it was for Oliver not to have his best friend, his partner in crime, by his side, he also didn't fight nor did anything to maintain communication. It was Oliver's own way of growing up.

Thea knows how much his brother had changed in the three years since their father had passed. There have been many downs since then. Even though Oliver came out of it with a new look on life, one that didn't involve childish behaviors that left him behind bars for peeing on a cop, it didn't leave him happy either. He put on a rough exterior, one that wasn't his inviting self. The only times he's ever looked like he relaxed was when he was talking to his sister.

Course, that was before.

For the past couple of months, Thea's noticed new changes to her brother. Oliver seemed lighter, calmer and relaxed. He didn't have that tight edge anymore. Her initial suspicion was a girlfriend, which she thought was about time. It definitely didn't dissuade her thoughts as he has been spending his nights elsewhere. Even their mother has noticed but hasn't really overly commented on it since she's preoccupied with her own budding romance with Walter.

That was another thing; it’s becoming obvious something’s going on between their mom and the man who took over their family company. It was something she was sure Oliver wouldn’t be too keen on, but oddly enough he didn’t seem bothered by it. He even went as far as be friendly with the man and sort of gave him his blessing. Walter was definitely a good man, and if anyone were to pursue their mom, she was glad it was him. It was just a surprise that Oliver was rational enough to see that.

Which, again, she reasoned must be because of a girlfriend.

But now, he has been vehemently denying it.

“This place, this whole building actually,” Oliver started, gesturing his hand around. “It’s owned by Diggle’s family. He and his wife live downstairs, and my friend is their only tenant. That’s how I met them, actually. She’s friends with them and she introduced us so Diggle wouldn’t get suspicious of me spending a lot of time here. He kind of sees her as a little sister and gets really protective of her. And good thing for me since he’s ex-military, and currently in private security so he could have definitely kicked my ass.”

“Is that how you hired Mr. Diggle?”

Four months ago, both she and her mother were surprised when Oliver showed up with a new bodyguard since Oliver was always against the idea. Moira didn't question the new development; she was just happy to know her son was protected. Also, in her point of view, she saw it as another part of Oliver growing up. Since then, the entire family had grown used to having the man always in the background. Thea herself had found a kinship with their bodyguard, especially since she noticed Oliver was quite chattier with him than he usually is with other people. It was obvious not only was there a professional respect between them but friendship also. A friendship she had witnessed just how deep it ran earlier, downstairs.

“Yeah. He had just finished his work with a client and waiting for a new one, so I asked if he wanted to shadow me.”

“I noticed you two are friendlier than you are with other people.” She commented.

"Well, that kind of happens when we met while we marathoned the Harry Potter movies."

Thea’s brows raised practically to her hairline, prompting him to continue.

“It was Sunday Movie Night.” He said, almost embarrassed. “It was her turn to pick and she chose Harry Potter because I told her I wasn’t really a fan. She wanted to remedy that.”

“Sunday Movie Night?” Thea’s lips started to curl in amusement. “Oh my god, who is this girl?”

Oliver let out a laugh, a sound that surprised even Thea since she hasn’t heard her brother let out an honest to god laugh in years. “She’s amazing, you’re gonna love her.”

“I bet.” Thea said, still dazed. “Seriously, Ollie, are you sure you’re not dating her?”

“I’m sure, Thea.” The soft way he says it, coupled with a slight smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes told her he was wishing otherwise. She kept her thoughts to herself regarding that for the time being.

“So how come I’ve never met her before?” she asked instead. “You two seem awfully close since you have her keys and spending your nights here.”

“I don’t know.” he shrugged. “I guess I’m used to it being just the two of us.”

“But you guys hang out with Mr. Diggle.”

“That’s different, Diggle’s already her friend. Kind of part of the package.”

“So it’s alright if it’s her friends but not yours? Not even your sister?”

"It's not like that Speedy. Honestly, I hadn't even realized you haven't met her yet until now. Being here with her just makes me feel different from being the Oliver Queen that everyone expects me to be."

“Wow.” Thea looked at him in amazement. “She must be something special.”

“She is.” He said with a soft smile. “And I’m sorry you haven’t met her yet, but you will now.”

She nodded, smiling back at him. Maybe this girl isn't her brother's girlfriend, but she's obviously affected him in a positive way. And Thea can't help but think that her brother is hoping for a change in their relationship.

“I can’t wait to meet her. Where is she? Who is she? You still haven’t told me.”

A blinding smile crept on Oliver. “Her name’s Felicity. She should be back any-“ he was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and giggling noises.

The Queen siblings turned and looked towards the door to see a blonde girl entering, wearing a lovely pink dress that hugged her curves just right. Her hair was down in lovely loose curls and her face was donned in light makeup, giving a nice soft and romantic look to her. She looked absolutely lovely and simply glowing, especially with the smile on her face. But she wasn't alone. She entered the apartment with a man by her side. He was only a couple foot taller than her, slightly skinny but not too lanky. He wore a clean dress shirt and dark pants and he had on a smitten smile as he looked at her.

"I swear; I practically fell to heaven when I sampled the A10-58K processors. They were lightning speed!" The man spoke.

"Oh god, you are so lucky!" She exclaimed, her face breaking out into a grin.

Closing the door behind them, she turned into her apartment only to stop abruptly upon seeing Oliver and Thea at the kitchen island.

“Oliver!” she squeaked, her eyes wide. Her company behind her froze as well.

"Hi, Felicity." Oliver greeted, giving her a grin, not even bothering to look sheepish or apologetic.

Thea, herself, took this moment to study the woman. She's definitely beautiful, but what caught her attention was the fact that this woman was not Oliver's type at all. Her brother always had the appreciation for brunettes. Yes, she's seen him with his fair share of blonde's, but his preferred company always had darkish brown hair. The other thing was she looked so sweet and innocent. She looked like the kind of girl who would rather spend her time at the home watching TV than in the club. Course, Laurel herself was a brilliant woman, but definitely not the nerdy type. This Felicity woman, however, was much different.

Then there was the matter of the man behind her.

“What are you doing here?”

"I came here for some tea." He said in a rather innocent tone.

Felicity’s eyes narrowed. “I thought I told you earlier I had a date tonight.”

"Oh was that tonight? I'm sorry, I must have forgotten." The tone of his voice clearly showed he didn't forget and he wasn't sorry.

At this, Thea turned her head to look at him questioningly. The same look Felicity was giving him now. Oliver opted to ignore them and only gave them an innocent shrug as he rounded the counter and approached Felicity and her date.

“Hi, I’m Oliver.” He said, holding out his hand.

“Oh hi…” the guy stammered. “I’m Barry.” He took Oliver’s hand and squeaked himself when Oliver squeezed it when they shook.

Oliver didn’t seem to be phased by it at all, and only gave him a charming smile when they parted.

“Did you guys want anything to drink?” Oliver continued, giving a pointed look at Barry, making him nervous.

“No.” Felicity said in a sharp tone, glaring at him. “But thank you for offering drinks for my guest in my own home.”

Oliver only gave her a smile, saying he wasn’t fazed at all by her biting tone.

"Could you just…" she gave him a shoo-ing motion.

Oliver turned away, holding his hand up slightly in a surrender gesture. He walked back towards the island, standing next to his sister. Thea gave him an incredulous look to which he waved off in response and went back to the stove to turn it off and move the kettle.

Felicity turned to Barry and gave him a sheepish look. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know…” she trailed off, her hand gesturing back to where Oliver was. She didn’t really have any way to explain the situation right now.

"It's fine." Barry said, with a too wide smile. they both didn't miss the treble in his voice, though.

"I really had a good time tonight."

“Me too.” He said, relaxing a bit. “I really want to do this again.”

Her grin widens. “Really? Me too.”

“Great.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Then I guess…I’ll call you?”

She nodded eagerly. “Mh-hm.”

“Okay.” He chuckled. “Um…so I’ll go now.”

“Okay. Bye.”

The two stood for a second, not sure what to do next. But then Felicity started to lean in, giving Barry his cue to lean in as well. Just as their lips brushed softly against each other, they heard a clanking sound behind them that caused them to jolt apart. They both turned in alarm to see Oliver standing by the sink, putting the cups away, looking sheepish.

“Oops, sorry.” He said with a too smug of a grin.

Felicity gritted her teeth and a low growl escaped her. She then covered her irritation and looked at Barry with an apologetic smile. “I’ll talk to you.” she promised.

Barry could only nod.

Once Barry was gone and the door was closed and locked, she turned back around to look at Oliver with the most menacing glare.

"Oliver Queen." she said in a growl that sent shivers even to Thea. "You are such an ass!" she yelled, starting to march herself towards him. "I gave you those keys for emergency purposes, not so you can invite yourself to my home whenever you please!"

She had finally reached to him and started to jab his chest with her fingers.

“I specifically told you I had plans tonight and NOT to come by!” she continued. “And you did it anyway!” she punctuated by giving his chest a slap.

“Hey, ow!” Oliver said, moving back from her slap. “I’m sorry, I told you, I forgot!”

“Forgot my ass!” she screeched again. “I called you five hours ago and specifically told you not to come over tonight!”

“Really? Isn’t this your first date with the guy?” even though he intended it to be a joke, he immediately regretted it.

Felicity’s jaw dropped and she started slapping his chest even harder. “You have no right to judge me on my personal life, Oliver Queen!”

“Ow, ow, ow, ow!” he hissed, moving away. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said that! I’m sorry, please Felicity!” her slaps have stopped as he grabbed on to her wrist softly. “I’m sorry, please.”

Felicity looked at him with a tight lip and a glare.

“I’m sorry I ruined your date.” He said and this time with sincerity. “But Thea didn’t really want to go back to the mansion and I didn’t know where else we could go. You know I always feel better when I’m here, so I thought it would be the same for her.”

Felicity’s face softened and her eyes finally rested on the woman sitting on her barstool. “Oh, hi.” She said sheepishly, pulling her arms away from Oliver.

Thea gave her a small smile and a hand wave.

“Sorry for all the…” her hand gestured to Oliver. “It’s just….”

“No, I get it.” Thea said. “You don’t have to explain. Ollie can definitely a bit much.” The two women chuckled. “I should be the one apologizing. We did crash your place after all. Course, I didn’t even know we were crashing because Ollie didn’t really say much to me.”

“Oh don’t worry, I’m totally not blaming you.” she said with an assuring smile. she then turned to Oliver and scowled. “I’ll deal with you later.” She muttered with a glare before moving pass him, towards Thea and greeted her with a warm smile. “Hi, I’m Felicity.”

"I'm Thea." Thea responded back, greeting her with an equally warm smile.

“Oliver’s told me so much about you, I’m glad I’m finally meeting you.”

Thea couldn't help but grin, giving a glance at her brother who was standing behind Felicity with a beaming smile. "I'm glad to meet you too. Although I must admit, I haven't really heard much about you. But I have been wanting to. Ollie's just being selfish when it comes to you, it seems."

Felicity let out a snort and an eye roll. “Oliver’s ridiculous.”

Thea couldn't help but chuckle. "But seriously, though, sorry we crashed your date." She said sincerely. "He seemed like a nice guy."

“Barry?” a sweet smile came on Felicity’s face. “Yeah, he is.”

“Where did you meet him?”

"Oh, at Tech-M downtown, this high-end store for technology. We were both getting biometric sensors installed in our CPU."

Thea gave her a blank look of confusion.

“Felicity’s really into computers.” Oliver supplied.

Felicity then looked sheepish. “Oh yeah, sorry, I kind of get into a zone when it comes to technology. It’s this really cool, new product that will allow you to access all your profile online using special scanners they installed on my computer. It’s just this really cool piece of tech that I really like and Barry also feels the same.”

“Felicity actually works at the IT department at QC.” Oliver added. “That’s how we met.”

"Yes, your brother murdered a laptop that had a very valuable presentation on it. Fortunately for him, I'm very good at my job."

“Actually the best in the whole department.” Oliver said with a proud smile.

“Well not to brag but…” Felicity let out a shrug but definitely not apologetic at the compliment.

Thea couldn’t help the wide smile that formed on her face. She had already made her assumptions on Felicity from earlier. After hearing Oliver talk about her and the smile that wouldn’t leave his face, her expectations had been high. That was not usually the case when it came to the women that her brother associated with, but something the way Oliver talked about her, she could tell she was different.

And she had been right.

Watching the two of them interact for the past ten minutes, and Felicity pretty much putting her brother in his place, Thea knew Felicity Smoak was someone special. She is certainly someone special to her brother. She had never seen Oliver be so…taken with someone. She certainly hadn’t seen her brother be so clingy before.

The moment she saw the guy Felicity had been with, she could practically feel the jealousy emitting from Oliver. That jealousy was confirmed when he blatantly showed his dominance in Felicity's space and interrupted their kiss when Barry had left. She knew the whole ‘we’re just friends’ spiel he had earlier was full of crap.

They may not be together, but Oliver definitely wants them to be. He definitely likes Felicity as more than a friend. Heck, Thea wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in love with her. She can tell they’re already at that level of comfort with each other that being in a relationship wouldn’t even be that big of a transition. He’s practically living with her.

It made Thea quite happy to see her brother like this. She knew there had been a change in him, but she didn’t get to see just to what extent.

Not until now.

Not until she saw him be so free and open and just happy being with Felicity.

Yes, Thea decided, her brother is definitely in love with Felicity Smoak.

“So Thea,” Felicity said, looking at her with a genuine smile. “I’m sorry you had a horrible night, but you are definitely more than welcome to stay here.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I honestly don’t want to intrude. I didn’t even know I would be coming here.”

"It's completely fine." Felicity assured. "Although, I know I should be learning my lesson for letting one Queen in my personal space since he never seems to leave it. But I can tell you're probably less invasive than your brother."

"Oh, you would be wrong on that one." Oliver quipped.

Felicity rolled her eyes at him. "At least, she'll be a more pleasant company than you."

“You love having me here and you know it.” His grin was smug as he looked at her. Thea could even see a shining glint in his eyes as he did.

“I tolerate your company is more like it.” She mumbled. Then she shook her head, as though shaking away Oliver’s effect on her and looked at Thea with that sincere smile. “So why was Oliver playing your savior tonight?

“My mom tried to set me up.” Thea said with a slight groan. “With one of her friend’s son who is such a douche. He makes Ollie look like Prince Charming.”

“Hey! I was never as bad as Barber!” Oliver protested.

“Oh please, you pretty much perfected the playboy billionaire act.” Thea said. “I can still remember all the pick-up lines you would use during our family parties back when you were still in high school.”

“They were good pick-up lines, and they worked.”

“Your money worked, my dear brother. The lines had nothing to do with it.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. The ladies loved my pick-up lines.”

"Oh yes, like your ever winning line, ‘You could be the Queen of my heart'?" she repeated in a mocking tone.

“Oh my god!” Felicity suddenly broke out in laughter. “I knew it! I knew you used the Queen line at some point in your life to pick up women!”

Oliver scowled as Felicity continued to laugh. She laughed so hard, she had started to clutch her stomach.

“Oh boy, Thea, you’re gonna have to tell me stories about young, playboy Oliver.” Felicity said as she wiped away a tear that formed from the laughter.

Thea's eyes lit up and she grinned. "Oh, I'd be happy to, Felicity."

“No!” Oliver immediately protested, but the girls ignored him.

“Tell you what,” Felicity said to her. “Since your mother’s attempt at finding you love was a bust, and Oliver here scared away my date, why don’t you and I spend the rest of the evening on my couch, watching the most ridiculous reality show on TV and drown on Mint Chip ice cream while you tell me stories about young Oliver.”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea!” Thea said enthusiastically. “I’ve got a lot of them.”

“Excellent!” Felicity let out an excited smile. “I’m gonna go get changed into my pajamas. You should too so you’ll be more comfortable.” She noted Thea’s dress.

“Oh…” Thea frowned. “I don’t have anything to wear. I didn’t exactly…prepare for this.”

“That’s fine. We’re about the same size, you can borrow my pajamas.”

Thea lit up at that. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s no problem.”

“Okay!” she excitedly hopped off the stool.

“For the record,” Oliver interrupted before they could leave. “I’m not a fan of this, particularly the part where you guys talk about my younger years.”

“Well tough, it’s my house, my rules.” Felicity said pointedly. “Now, be a dear and get our ice cream ready.”

She gave him a pat on his arm before taking Thea’s hand and pulling her away. The two let out giggles as they walked and Thea noticed the look on her brother’s face before he was out of sight. He donned on a grumpy exterior but she could also see the amusement behind it and how he was trying not to break out into laughter himself.

Thea couldn't help but feel lighter. The dread and anxiousness she felt earlier in the night while at her mother's house is long gone. In fact, all thoughts of what happened earlier are far from her mind. It wasn't something that bothered her anymore, certainly not now when Felicity is practically throwing her an extra pair of pajama pants and a shirt at her direction, the two of them laughing along the way.

Is this how Oliver feels whenever he’s around Felicity? Does he always feel this sense of peace, like the burdens of the world had just lifted? Is this why he had kept Felicity’s company to himself for so long?

If so, she understood. After everything her brother has been through, Felicity must have been like the shining light that pulled him out of his darkness. Thea can see why he feels so comfortable and unguarded being here with her. She also knew her brother feels something more than friendship with Felicity.

Standing in the middle of Felicity's bedroom, already feeling so at home from the other woman's welcoming presence, Thea made up her mind.

There is no doubt her brother is in love with Felicity, now all she needs to do is figure out if she feels the same way about him and help get them together.

And judging from the fact that all Felicity seems to be talking about is Oliver, rather than the guy she had been on a date with, while she was getting dressed in her bathroom, Thea already has an idea of how she feels.

Yes, Thea thought, these two are totally in love with each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, done without a beta. If any of you are interested, please message me cause I desperately need help if I'm gonna continue to write more. 
> 
> Also, this story was written because I was inspired by all the best friends turned lovers fics I had been reading. Particularly, I wanted to write something where someone witnesses the closeness between Oliver and Felicity and just cannot comprehend the idea that, they are this close and practically married but still insist their friends. That is my particular brand of OTP trope that I will never get tired of reading!


End file.
